Quad or Bike

jfh

Hi Lads/Lasses,
we have a Honda quad for the last 7 years, it was 2nd when we bought it but the engine is going now so options are;
buy a new quad roughly 6000, not an option now.
go 2nd hand again, most that i've looked at have been drove to bits.
chinese brand, no knowledge.

or go with a scrambler/bike. reckon it would be a lot cheaper to run, but without all the benefits of a quad.

any feedback welcome.

Farmer Pudsey

jfh wrote: »

Hi Lads/Lasses,
we have a Honda quad for the last 7 years, it was 2nd when we bought it but the engine is going now so options are;
buy a new quad roughly 6000, not an option now.
go 2nd hand again, most that i've looked at have been drove to bits.
chinese brand, no knowledge.

or go with a scrambler/bike. reckon it would be a lot cheaper to run, but without all the benefits of a quad.

any feedback welcome.

I think you know the answer yourself. A quad is really the only option. What kind of land are you using it ob is a 2wd an option. Would be suprised if you cannot get a good 2nd hand one. Is it dealer only yu are trying or are you looking in the DD and Adverts.ie.The North and the UK may be an option as well.

Feckthis

jfh wrote: »

Hi Lads/Lasses,
we have a Honda quad for the last 7 years, it was 2nd when we bought it but the engine is going now so options are;
buy a new quad roughly 6000, not an option now.
go 2nd hand again, most that i've looked at have been drove to bits.
chinese brand, no knowledge.

or go with a scrambler/bike. reckon it would be a lot cheaper to run, but without all the benefits of a quad.

any feedback welcome.

I keep bikes around here but there not for everyone. Great for herding if you have the skills to drive one. They are a disaster if not.

C0N0R

Feckthis wrote: »

I keep bikes around here but there not for everyone. Great for herding if you have the skills to drive one. They are a disaster if not.

Love using them for herding but as said you need to be able to handle them! Far rather them for transport than a quad to

aaakev

Honda fortrax on dd seems to be a decent price
http://www.donedeal.ie/view/8300718

Bullocks

Is it an option to do up the engine on the one you have ? And knock another while out of it cheaply

st1979

Neither. have bike for fun but not suitable for farm work. quad will break u. my secondhand one cost over 1000 a year in service and break down repairs. have a jeep now and put decent tyres on it. Got some perished off road tyres for 25 a piece lots of grip. jeep cost under a grand and when it dies scrap it. I now bring the cows in with an air conditioned cab run on green diesel. plenty of room in back for fencing posts etc.

Limestone Cowboy

jfh wrote: »

Hi Lads/Lasses,
we have a Honda quad for the last 7 years, it was 2nd when we bought it but the engine is going now so options are;
buy a new quad roughly 6000, not an option now.
go 2nd hand again, most that i've looked at have been drove to bits.
chinese brand, no knowledge.

or go with a scrambler/bike. reckon it would be a lot cheaper to run, but without all the benefits of a quad.

any feedback welcome.

I bought an absolutely immaculate 450 foreman for 3500 earlier on in the year with 260 hours on it. Would find it very hard to justify the price of a new one.

quader

aaakev wrote: »

Honda fortrax on dd seems to be a decent price
http://www.donedeal.ie/view/8300718

that quad is up on 15 years old be a exspensive buy

Connemara Farmer

3-4k will get you a good quad if you shop around as Mary Harney said.

kowtow

Connemara Farmer wrote: »

3-4k will get you a good quad if you shop around as Mary Harney said.

I hope so because it is on my list to do for this week.

Timmaay

If your considering a bike then obviously you don't need the quad for heavy work, you can pickup a 2nd hand 250 2wd Honda/yamaha for about 2k, very simple machines with nothing much to go wrong on, will travel over plenty of terrain (and let's face it, usually when you get stuck, the only diff between a 4wd and a 2wd is you get beached in the very centre of a rough spot with a 4wd, but only the edge with a 2wd ha). You can still pull a small trailer with the quad also for fencing etc.

mayota

Timmaay wrote: »

If your considering a bike then obviously you don't need the quad for heavy work, you can pickup a 2nd hand 250 2wd Honda/yamaha for about 2k, very simple machines with nothing much to go wrong on, will travel over plenty of terrain (and let's face it, usually when you get stuck, the only diff between a 4wd and a 2wd is you get beached in the very centre of a rough spot with a 4wd, but only the edge with a 2wd ha). You can still pull a small trailer with the quad also for fencing etc.

+1
And a 2wd quad will travel where a 4wd Jeep won't.

smokey-fitz

Also most 2wd quads are light on fuel and light overall. You can lift them if you get stuck. I have a 12yr old foreman 450 switchable 4wd I got last yr for under 2k, no hassle with it at all. Simple machine to do any repairs on too. Much more versatile than a bike, it can even pull around my 8x5 with a ton of meal, not that id recommend it but I had to one day and it did it no issues...

Connemara Farmer

smokey-fitz wrote: »

Also most 2wd quads are light on fuel and light overall. You can lift them if you get stuck. I have a 12yr old foreman 450 switchable 4wd I got last yr for under 2k, no hassle with it at all. Simple machine to do any repairs on too. Much more versatile than a bike, it can even pull around my 8x5 with a ton of meal, not that id recommend it but I had to one day and it did it no issues...

Pulled a toyota hiace laden to the gunnels with tools etc out of a dirty spot facing downhill with a friends quad. Couldn't believe that she was fit to do it tbh.

jfh

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

I think you know the answer yourself. A quad is really the only option. What kind of land are you using it ob is a 2wd an option. Would be suprised if you cannot get a good 2nd hand one. Is it dealer only yu are trying or are you looking in the DD and Adverts.ie.The North and the UK may be an option as well.

yes Pudsey, i probably do know the answer. the safest option is to stick with a quad. it's DD we where checking, might cast the net farther afield

jfh

Feckthis wrote: »

I keep bikes around here but there not for everyone. Great for herding if you have the skills to drive one. They are a disaster if not.

C0N0R wrote: »

Love using them for herding but as said you need to be able to handle them! Far rather them for transport than a quad to

Timmaay wrote: »

If your considering a bike then obviously you don't need the quad for heavy work, you can pickup a 2nd hand 250 2wd Honda/yamaha for about 2k, very simple machines with nothing much to go wrong on, will travel over plenty of terrain (and let's face it, usually when you get stuck, the only diff between a 4wd and a 2wd is you get beached in the very centre of a rough spot with a 4wd, but only the edge with a 2wd ha). You can still pull a small trailer with the quad also for fencing etc.

i'd love to get a bike myself, just for general herding & rounding up. spend a fortune on petrol for quad, thing is it wouldn't be practical for my father, if i saw one for a few of hundred, i'd pick it up for myself.

regards the 250, 2wd, think thisis the most likely option.

thanks

jfh

Bullocks wrote: »

Is it an option to do up the engine on the one you have ? And knock another while out of it cheaply

unfortunately not, we have done this, the mechanic recommends getting rid of it.

Farmer Pudsey

I think the issue with quads is that they have got bigger and bigger. Now I can understand on Mountain Sheep farms where they are often doing the work of small tractors. However on farms that are on better land I see little reason to have a quad with more than a 250cc engine and have seen them with smaller engines than that which are more than adequate even with 2WD to do loads of small jobs and pull a small trailer if fencing etc.

F.D

Are Quads really as hard on juice as some of you are saying?
how much would you use per hour or per km

I am hoping to get one soon to save wrecking the jeep going around fields and to use it for jobs like gathering wood spraying etc, there probably would be a few km of road work getting from the yard to the house.
I presume if your not going flat out, and just tipping around it won't be drinking the stuff

as for pricing them second hand, the best value seems to be the early honda 420
the older 350 are still making a good bit for there age

Deepsouthwest

Giving serious consideration here to buying some kind of a dirt bike/scrambler here just for bringing in the cows. Have a jeep for fencing etc, so something v basic would do. Anyone got any ideas?

Connemara Farmer

F.D wrote: »

Are Quads really as hard on juice as some of you are saying?
how much would you use per hour or per km

I am hoping to get one soon to save wrecking the jeep going around fields and to use it for jobs like gathering wood spraying etc, there probably would be a few km of road work getting from the yard to the house.
I presume if your not going flat out, and just tipping around it won't be drinking the stuff

as for pricing them second hand, the best value seems to be the early honda 420
the older 350 are still making a good bit for there age

If you're using it in replacement of walking they'd use a fair bit. I use it only for jobs like spraying, moving stuff and towing when needed and tbh I find it uses SFA petrol.

Timmaay

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Giving serious consideration here to buying some kind of a dirt bike/scrambler here just for bringing in the cows. Have a jeep for fencing etc, so something v basic would do. Anyone got any ideas?

Once it's a fairly tame 4stroke bike should be grand, definitely get one of the Japs, alot of Chinese crap out there. Just make sure it ain't a proper motocross bike ha, plenty of cheap 125 2 stroke race bikes for sale, they are super fun (got one in the shed here for racing!), but totally impractical for farm work, too noisy, too unreliable and to be honest stick a chap up on one who hasn't rode a bike much before and he definitely will be tossed of the back of it with the aggressive powerband.

Greengrass1

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Giving serious consideration here to buying some kind of a dirt bike/scrambler here just for bringing in the cows. Have a jeep for fencing etc, so something v basic would do. Anyone got any ideas?

I'd definitely get a bike for herding too if I could get away of holding reels and pig tails for break fencing.
The best thing about a quad is how quick you can put up fences

Milked out

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Giving serious consideration here to buying some kind of a dirt bike/scrambler here just for bringing in the cows. Have a jeep for fencing etc, so something v basic would do. Anyone got any ideas?

Shir give a bit less grass and a few extra nuts in the parlour and they'll run in for ya😆

Deepsouthwest

Milked out wrote: »

Shir give a bit less grass and a few extra nuts in the parlour and they'll run in for ya😆

That's the problem, would normally give the cows a 36 hr block here, and they'd break ur heart trying to bring them in after the first grazing, u'd have to nearly get every cow up individually, and even then they'll hardly walk in for u, leading to me zig-zagging across the field umpteen times before u finally get them outta the field

Timmaay

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

That's the problem, would normally give the cows a 36 hr block here, and they'd break ur heart trying to bring them in after the first grazing, u'd have to nearly get every cow up individually, and even then they'll hardly walk in for u, leading to me zig-zagging across the field umpteen times before u finally get them outta the field

I'd find our 250 quad more nimble than a bike for zigging back and forward, you can turn a quad on a 6pence once you transfer weight correctly. A bike will track over bumps better, but that hopefully isn't a issue in most fields. A horn helps also ha.

Milked out

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

That's the problem, would normally give the cows a 36 hr block here, and they'd break ur heart trying to bring them in after the first grazing, u'd have to nearly get every cow up individually, and even then they'll hardly walk in for u, leading to me zig-zagging across the field umpteen times before u finally get them outta the field

I know how u feel, no feeders in parlour so far here and it's like that even when strip grazing, particularly it's the end of the year and they are grazing the far off silage fields it is a right pain. Had one heifer last year that I had to make sure she was out of the field as if she hadn't gone and I go to move the wire she would start following me around

C0N0R

Greengrass1 wrote: »

I'd definitely get a bike for herding too if I could get away of holding reels and pig tails for break fencing.
The best thing about a quad is how quick you can put up fences

Sit on the pig tails and hook the reel onto the front or back. Once you get used to them they are grand for fencing

Zoo4m8

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

Giving serious consideration here to buying some kind of a dirt bike/scrambler here just for bringing in the cows. Have a jeep for fencing etc, so something v basic would do. Anyone got any ideas?

Any type of trail bike will do, a dedicated trials bike is not really the job they are designed for riding standing up which gets a pain after a while. So you're looking for a road going type bike, wide bars, knobbly tyres, high mudguards off the wheels , you don't need much power so I'd say 125cc up, oh yeah, a side stand is a good idea, keep it upright if you need to get off in the middle of a field.

dar31

this is the kind of bike ye need, very low geared, wide bars, big racks
used a lot in NZ, cant source them over here, anyone know where to get one

Timmaay

Here's one dar:
http://www.donedeal.ie/quads-for-sale/yamaha-125-dirt-bike/8310580

Deepsouthwest

Timmaay wrote: »

Here's one dar:
http://www.donedeal.ie/quads-for-sale/yamaha-125-dirt-bike/8310580

Race to limerick between myself and Dar!!

cjpm

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

That's the problem, would normally give the cows a 36 hr block here, and they'd break ur heart trying to bring them in after the first grazing, u'd have to nearly get every cow up individually, and even then they'll hardly walk in for u, leading to me zig-zagging across the field umpteen times before u finally get them outta the field

Would you consider a cattle dog, a good one, not an idiot.

Wouldn't be without one here. Cows and cattle head to the paddock exit when they see him.

Deepsouthwest

cjpm wrote: »

Would you consider a cattle dog, a good one, not an idiot.

Wouldn't be without one here. Cows and cattle head to the paddock exit when they see him.

While I can see the merits of it, no definitely not. Every dog we ever had here got killed by passing cars (farmyard in the middle of two roads). Plus not interested in keeping a tied up for all the times I won't need him. Plus not a fan of keeping pets and all that, but maybe that's the hippy in me!

Zoo4m8

dar31 wrote: »

this is the kind of bike ye need, very low geared, wide bars, big racks
used a lot in NZ, cant source them over here, anyone know where to get one

You're in Wicklow.. Roll up to Muck and Fun in Wicklow town, they have a couple on DD.. I see there is also a Kawasaki near me here in Greystones, a four stroke, it's probably what I'd go for..

Greengrass1

What are those 125s like on petril. I heard they were awful bad on it

Timmaay

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

You're in Wicklow.. Roll up to Muck and Fun in Wicklow town, they have a couple on DD.. I see there is also a Kawasaki near me here in Greystones, a four stroke, it's probably what I'd go for..

Stay the absolute fxuk away from them cowboys!!!!

Zoo4m8

Timmaay wrote: »

Stay the absolute fxuk away from them cowboys!!!!

Yeah, after I posted I remembered that I've heard a bit about them but was out doing a bit of fencing so glad you got here before me!
Ive never dealt with them , I'm way past their stuff now but I would have felt bad if anyone had a crap experience with them on my recommendation ....

9935452

F.D wrote: »

Are Quads really as hard on juice as some of you are saying?
how much would you use per hour or per km

I am hoping to get one soon to save wrecking the jeep going around fields and to use it for jobs like gathering wood spraying etc, there probably would be a few km of road work getting from the yard to the house.
I presume if your not going flat out, and just tipping around it won't be drinking the stuff

as for pricing them second hand, the best value seems to be the early honda 420
the older 350 are still making a good bit for there age

They can be heavy on petrol especially if like myself you are driving them on . You also are normally getting the petrol in gallon containers so are constantly filling it unlike a car where you would fill it in one go, so it seems like you are filling the whole time.
With regards the 420 honda , thy 2wd are selling for handy money a good bit cheaper than a 4wd 420.
I have a road registered 420 4wd that was bought 2 years ago with 300 genuine hours for 3k

chezzie

the honda foreman 4wd is a brilliant bike, we got 2 of them 2000 and 2002, both 450cc and never let us down, i believe they are the pick of them all.

chezzie

the honda foreman 4wd is a brilliant quadbike, we got 2 of them 2000 and 2002, both 450cc and never let us down, i believe they are the pick of them all.

Deepsouthwest

What about danger wise, would have no bike no bike experience here(other than renting vespa's on holidays!) Would a dirt bike be more dangerous than a quad?

Tail painter

I have a new yamaha 450. Before that i had a honda 420 with 3000 hrs. i would stick with manual gear shift on honda as electronic shift has given trouble. Brilliant direct injection engine on 420. Carburettor on new Yamaha. Its not as easy on petrol but €1000 cheaper to buy. Costs about €1/hour in petrol to run. Used to have an old Toyota jeep for rounding up cows but it costs a fortune in drive shafts cos of 4WD on hard roadways in low range gears. Not suitable in soft conditions cos it sank a lot.

Mehaffey1

You can't really choose between a bike and a quad, would need a quad before considering a bike as an extra. We have a Suzuki 420 Kingquad and its an absolute beast but tyres is obviously number 1 priority if running well.

jfh

Deepsouthwest wrote: »

While I can see the merits of it, no definitely not. Every dog we ever had here got killed by passing cars (farmyard in the middle of two roads). Plus not interested in keeping a tied up for all the times I won't need him. Plus not a fan of keeping pets and all that, but maybe that's the hippy in me!

we had one good dog, 20 yrs ago, he was excellent, once the sheep saw him, straight in. unfortunately, since then, we've had dogs that were too rough with sheep, too gentle for cattle, dogs that bite, etc if i put together the money we have spent on dogs, i'd have a quad bought!

i hate keeping them tied up myself

jfh

Mehaffey1 wrote: »

You can't really choose between a bike and a quad, would need a quad before considering a bike as an extra.

i think this is the crux of the matter.

F.D

9935452 wrote: »

They can be heavy on petrol especially if like myself you are driving them on . You also are normally getting the petrol in gallon containers so are constantly filling it unlike a car where you would fill it in one go, so it seems like you are filling the whole time.
With regards the 420 honda , thy 2wd are selling for handy money a good bit cheaper than a 4wd 420.
I have a road registered 420 4wd that was bought 2 years ago with 300 genuine hours for 3k

When you mean road registered, i take it you pay road tax on it ? does it have lights and indicators etc, are there any particular rules you have to follow on the road, other than wear a helmet i suppose

9935452

F.D wrote: »

When you mean road registered, i take it you pay road tax on it ? does it have lights and indicators etc, are there any particular rules you have to follow on the road, other than wear a helmet i suppose

Yes number plate, insurance and taxed. it has lights but no indicators. Legally if they were fitted day one they need to be on it and work. Legally if you can give hand signals you dont need indicators.
Its driven on a car license. i don't think there are any extra rules you have to follow. As regards wearing a helmet on the road , you would be foolish not to.( doing 90k on the road, soft tyres and suspension, locked back diff )

F.D

9935452 wrote: »

Yes number plate, insurance and taxed. it has lights but no indicators. Legally if they were fitted day one they need to be on it and work. Legally if you can give hand signals you dont need indicators.
Its driven on a car license. i don't think there are any extra rules you have to follow. As regards wearing a helmet on the road , you would be foolish not to.( doing 90k on the road, soft tyres and suspension, locked back diff )

Thanks for the info, might be worth doing to keep in with the law
does it cost much to tax and insure, sorry if i am been to nosey
As far as a helmet i think its a must, i did crash one when i was younger so i know the dangers

Greengrass1

9935452 wrote: »

Yes number plate, insurance and taxed. it has lights but no indicators. Legally if they were fitted day one they need to be on it and work. Legally if you can give hand signals you dont need indicators.
Its driven on a car license. i don't think there are any extra rules you have to follow. As regards wearing a helmet on the road , you would be foolish not to.( doing 90k on the road, soft tyres and suspension, locked back diff )

Road legal quads are big in england. Remember being out in Birmingham few yr ago and the street was full of them. Lads taring up and down the road on them